Divorcee pays £26k a month to house 1,000 felines
A DIVORCEE forks out £26,000 a month to look after her 1,000 rescued moggies.
And she was forced to sell her diamond wedding ring and car when the cost of keeping the cats soared as she took more in.
Lynea Lattazio runs Cat House On The Kings – the world's largest cage-free cat sanctuary. She says: "I'm not crazy, but what I do is crazy."
At the moment the gated property in Fresno, California, is home to 800 adult cats, 100 boarding cats and around 100 kittens, cared for by Lynea and her 23 dedicated support staff.
The rescued felines' food and medical supplies cost a whopping £26,000 each month, but that staggering amount has not stopped the cat-lover.
Lynea said: "I was never allowed a kitten as a child and that's all I ever wanted.
"I think it must be something from a past life that makes me care about them the way that I do.
"Cats are independent, they're humorous, they're not as needy as a dog - I just love them.
"I wake up happy every morning. I feel fulfilled because I know I'm doing something good for the world.
"The cats love me no matter what I look like."
Lynea's cat project began 20 years ago when she brought home 15 sick kittens after going to pick up just two for her father.
She said: "Within a year I had 96 rescued cats that would have been put down.
"Within three years I had 350 cats and as word got round what I was doing people just started leaving boxes of abandoned cats outside my door."
Now Lynea has more than 1,000 of the furry felines.
She added: "Up until I had 350 cats I knew them all by name.
"After that they came in so fast that I lost track.
"I now know around 100 personally."
Lynea received the 12-acre ranch property as part of her divorce from her millionaire husband and paid for the growth of Cat House On The Kings out of her own pocket.
She said: "I sold my diamond wedding ring and my Mercedes to pay the spiralling costs."
But she is still in debt and owes more than £90,000 on her mortgage alone for all the developments she has added.
She revealed: "I get a lot of donations from the public and also from Ellen Degeneres' Halo program that helps with charities in California.
"I dip into my retirement fund to make up any shortfall.
"I can't retire anyway; I'm going to do this until I drop dead so I might as well use the money for something useful."
Lynea has even moved out of the five-bedroom house at the centre of the property.
And each of her eight insulated cat houses is equipped with heaters and feeding stations for the moggies.
She said: "The kittens are bottle fed and sick cats are given medication and even surgery on site at the special cat intensive care unit.
"There is even an old cats' home for them to live out their last years in comfort."
Out of all the cats and 20 dogs she cares for Lynea does have favourites.
She added: "I have one cat and one dog that I would not part with for anything.
"My cat Daphne, who I got when she was just four months-old and hated being held, is now the sweetest and cutest cat here.
"My dog Shye Ann is a Rottweiler-Chow mix. I used to buy Rottweilers, before I realised how many are killed at shelters. I call her my Rottweiler-wannabe."
The immediate area around Fresno is known for some of the highest death rates among rescued cats.
Lynea said: "That is why we are here to be a no-kill sanctuary."
